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Section 2. History
Section 2. History Секция 2. История
Kasatkina Svetlana Sergeevna, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences,
Cherepovets State University, E-mail: SvetlanaCH5@rambler.ru Frolova Irina Viktorovna, Postgraduate Student, Cherepovets State University E-mail: ivfrolova160381@yandex.ru
Socio-cultural image of a Russian provincial town in the last third of the XIX — the beginning of XX centuries
The publication is prepared within the frames of a project № 13-31-01242 supported by the Russian humanitarian scientific fund.
Abstract: The article describes the peculiarities of Russian provincial towns of the Imperial Russia. The authors formulated the notion of socio-cultural image of pre-revolutionary Russian towns.
Keywords: Russian town, province, socio-cultural space of Russian towns, urban culture, urban society, trends of urban development.
In prerevolutionary Russia a town was a populated settlement, which was granted a deed of gift with a coat of arms and a plan of urban development approved by the head of the state. Administrative and territorial system of towns, which had a strict hierarchy, was already formed in Russia by XIX century and looked as follows: capital cities (Moscow and Saint-Petersburg); governor-ate, district and non-district or small provincial towns (they didn’t have a district) [8, 283]. All these categories of towns were the centers of administrative, legislative, military and religious power as well as the centers of cultural life.
The reforms of Alexander II contributed to interpenetration, a dialogue between urban and rural cultures, overcoming of aloofness and religious development of all social groups of the Russian society. This process was not based on a class principle, but on principles of civil freedom of a personality and economic start. Gradual growth of impact of urban lifestyle on household and morals of provincial nobility encouraged the formation of a new culture of thinking. Although, many universities, museums, academies, art galleries, theaters and libraries are closely tied with urban environment, it doesn’t mean that the given achievements have nothing to do with rural area. Urban system is organically connected to the his-
torical development of the rural area and «there is little chance of a town’s existence without a village compared to the village life without a town» [10, 81-82].
The turn of XIX — XX centuries was a crucial stage in the history of prerevolutionary Russia. The development of industrial sector was accompanied with the growth of capitalist relations, democratization of socio-cultural sphere, liberal reformation movement with further powerful conservative government course and strengthening of radical moods among the intelligentsia. The changes took place unevenly, which had impact on socio-economic processes in the towns of post-reform Russia determining their difficulty and inconsistency, particularly in district towns. Transformation of public relationships deepened the division of labor, strengthened social differentiation, decreased the role of traditions in social and private life, which brought about the weakening of interpersonal relationships that were of superficial nature [8, 289].
The process of industrialization changed the image of a provincial town, its relief, and inspired a new system of views and attitudes towards the surrounding world. Analyzing socio-cultural image of a town, one should rely upon the principles of geo-urban planning taking into account typical features of space and time nature, history
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Секция 2. История
and culture of a certain area [2]. Formation and development of a peculiar urban environment as poly-functional organism influenced the life of Russian towns of all levels significantly. Urban population got new life conditions from capitalist era, which corrected perceptions about it and made people reconsider traditional views on the surrounding world formed long ago.
Provincial towns of Russia were located among rural settlements till the end of XIX century, preserved the characteristics of agrarian villages and their population preserved the rural lifestyle. It was not only determined by close location to rural settlements but also by peculiarities of urban economy, which preserved agrarian features [8, 309.]. Agriculture has defined the life rhythm, morals and values of the Russian society for many centuries. It led to the fact that the behavior of citizens of provincial towns was oriented to peasant household. Thus, towns became the centers of special socio-cultural life of Russian provincial society.
Formation of the specific urban provincial environment in the second half of XIX century is related to the appearance and development of new forms of communication, which was not known in the village. There were libraries, book stores and street stands, typographies and lithographies, photo studios [7, 81-82], anti-fire, law-enforcement (prisons, courts etc.) and post systems, exhibitions, treatment and preventive [6, 2-45], charitable [6, 36] and alms houses [13, 347]. The sphere ofhealthcare developed slowly [1]. Gradually, the processes of growth of the number ofpeople engaged in the sphere of non-material but service production was observed in provincial towns and women were beginning to play a bigger role in it, including noble families; a new industrial structure ofemployment of urban and rural population was forming.
Studying traditional social structure of a Russian town of XIX century, it should be noted that the changes took place in the Russian society during the studied period. Many estates changed their status due to historic changes in the country. According to Town decree as of 1870, all persons possessing any property in the town became a part of urban population, i. e. nobility and peasants became lawful citizens.
Statistical data from the Records of different gover-norates of the Russian Empire enable us to speak about the fact that, at the turn of epochs, noble population reduced shifting to other social and professional groups [8, 95]. The process of social differentiation of the highest estate in Russia took place. Many noble people were impoverishing, but a part of them managed to adapt to another life and reform their household according to
the new capitalist manner [8, 97-98]. Due to country counter-reform of Alexander III the political activity of nobility was strengthened. They became actively engaged in country activities, achieved high success in the social sphere at the governorate and all-Russia level [11, 24]. One of the important aspects of socio-cultural development of a provincial society during the period of modernization was inter-estate marriages, which were more popular in the nobility circle and which made the privileged estate more open [3, 41-43].
Merchant estate as well as the nobility reduced in number. The category of merchants during this period was completed with richened lower middle class and lucky peasants-craftsmen. Due to merchant activity stone markets and street stands were built in many towns, where handicraft goods from other towns were sold. Development of stationary trade was a phenomenon spread in Russia at the end of XIX — the beginning of XX centuries. Usually, the merchants built their houses in central squares and town streets, often combining residential and commercial premises in one building. Traditionally, the activities of a merchant family included the participation in charitable events such as support of parochial schools, payment of scholarships to the poor but bright students and other acts of mercy [5].
The smallest but richest layer of town citizens was honorable citizens. In 1982 this category included people who succeeded significantly in the social sphere. The gradation of the estate into the descended and private determined the period and degree of activity of a candidate for the title of an honorable citizen. The category of private honorable citizens in small towns often included merchants and enterprising nobility. They mainly lived in the village leaving the town in search of a quieter life.
The most common category of citizens was lower middle class. They formed the bone of town dwellers, who lived literally throughout the town territory. The richest lower middle class members lived in the central part of the town. The main activity for most part of the lower middle class members was, as a rule, fishing, work at shipyards in the town or district located on local rivers, departure for industrial districts. The given estate was the most extended. All citizens who didn’t have enough means to be considered as merchants were included in the lower middle class. The estate was diverse in terms of social and professional activity. The statistical data on the census shows the numerical advantage of the lower middle class by 10 times compared to all other estates. Small towns of Russia at the end of XIX — the beginning of XX century could be called typically middle-class.
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Among provincial citizens we cannot avoid the clergy, because the presence of town churches presupposes a significant role of the estate in the life of the society. It was the most educated estate in the XX century Russia. Its number started reducing at the end of XIX — the beginning of XX century. The interests of church officers were infringed at the beginning of XX century and they started living in the grip of poverty. A part of provincial intelligentsia almost always consisted of priests because apart from the clergy they worked at the parochial schools, taught the Law of God at town colleges and gymnasia. At the end of XX century the clergy as estate lost its estate features and merged with other professional groups of citizens [8, 104-106].
Other citizens of small towns were peasants who shifted to towns, military estate and people of different titles. The poorest estates lived on the outskirts of the town, had ramshackle dwellings and worked on hire at any place. It should be noted that often the growth rate of the number of peasants outdid other categories. Perhaps, communal order burdened the peasants and they tried to escape to the town.
Thus, having considered the typology of citizens of small towns of Russia, we can conclude that in the last third of XIX — the beginning of XX century there were remarkable changes in the urban environment, which had impact on the province. The nobility that used to be the richest became poor. The new epoch demanded the development of capitalist forms ofproperty and production. Hence, the leading role in social structure of the Russian society at the end of XX century was played by the merchants and other enterprising layers of the society, which lower middle class and peasants strived to become.
In prerevolutionary Russia there was a gradual process of transformation of external image of a provincial town from administrative, military and agrarian settlement to industrial and commercial, and at the end of XIX century to industrial, commercial and cultural center with dense regular construction [8, 309]. Sociocultural image of a provincial town is not completed with the characteristic of categories of population and requires the study of its cultural forms and images. They included unique architectural structures of churches, streets and building facades. A typical feature of the town’s culture was the condition of public education, which town authorities strived to make universal at the end of XIX century. Thus, at the end of XIX — the beginning of XX century in many towns there was a complex of educational institutions, among which we should not governorate colleges, real colleges, female gymnasia, pedagogical courses for men etc. Many of them were meant for all estates. The lack of teachers in towns and districts was gradually compensated, which allows speaking about the growth of level of education among citizens and activity of local intelligentsia [7; 12, 64].
Every provincial town formed its traditions, culture and mentality. Towns were beautiful with their churches; streets paved with wood; stone houses of merchants in the center; carved wooden patters; talented and hardworking people, which preserved the unique image of Russian province praised by Russian writers of XIX century and which is currently the subject of discussions among historians and specialists of many fields of social sciences [4, 24]. Socio-cultural environment of a provincial town reflected social and spiritually-moral potential of the society in prerevolutionary Russia.
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